I find biscotti very addictive, especially when they’re coated in dark chocolate!
They’re a seriously hard cookie (watch your teeth), but I find them perfect for dunking in my morning cup of tea. This version – a riff on an old and reliable David Lebovitz recipe – was particularly pleasing. The ginger stayed soft despite the second bake and the flavour worked well with the dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts.
- 300g (2 cups) plain (AP) flour
- 75g (¾ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- 220g (1 cup) white sugar
- 3 large (59g) free range eggs
- 100g (3½ oz) roasted skinned hazelnuts, chopped
- 100g (3½ oz) glace ginger (we used Buderim Naked Ginger), chopped
- 100g (3½ oz) dark chocolate chips (I used Callebaut 811 54% dark)
- 1 egg, beaten, for eggwash
- crystallised sugar (demerara works well, but I used Moo’s rock sugar)
For a more detailed tutorial on making biscotti, please see our earlier post here.
1. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa (which must be sifted, even if nothing else is) and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to beat the 3 eggs and sugar together until combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the flour mixture, then add the chocolate chips, ginger and almonds. Mix everything together by hand (it will be quite a stiff dough) until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
5. Divide the mix into two and roll into long skinny logs. Place them on the parchment-lined baking tray.
6. Gently flatten the top of each log, then eggwash the tops and sides of each and sprinkle generously with the crystallised sugar. Bake the logs for 25 minutes until firm to touch. Allow to cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes.
7. With a sharp serrated knife, slice each log into 1cm / ½” slices.
8. Lay the slices onto the parchment lined tray – they won’t spread any more – and bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 175C / 350F or 160C/320F with fan. Rotate the trays halfway through the baking time to ensure the biscotti bake evenly.
Coating the Biscotti with Chocolate
1. Temper a batch of dark chocolate following the instructions here. Place the tempered chocolate on a heat mat to keep it at the correct temperature while you work with it.
2. With a butter knife, smooth a coating of chocolate over one side of the biscotti. It’s easier to do this than to dip the cookie, as they’re quite crumbly and can end up breaking off into the chocolate…
3. Place each coated biscotti chocolate-side down onto a sheet of parchment and press down gently. Allow to set. I picked up this tip from Jacques Pepin, and it results in a smooth flat chocolate finish. (Photo below is of almond and choc chip biscotti – I made two different batches at the same time and coated them all.)
4. Store the finished biscotti in an airtight container – they can also be frozen for ages. Tempering the chocolate means that the finished chocolate will resist blooming, making this a perfect do-ahead gift.
There will undoubtedly be leftover tempered chocolate to play with! I dipped some shortbread rounds in ours…
…and threw chopped glace ginger, slivered almonds and cranberries into the remnants of the bowl, before spreading it all out on a sheet of parchment to make this easy and delicious chocolate bark. It’s the perfect after-dinner nibble!
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Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
This recipe is definitely going into my to make folder. They look great. Well done.
Thank you! :)
Thanks Celia…now I really want one (of each of them) to eat!
Had I made them a week earlier, I’d have brought you some! xx
Coating anything in chocolate could only be a good thing, let alone coating these lovely biscuits in it! :D
Lorraine, you know we think alike on that one! You can never have too much chocolate! :)
They look great and it’s nice to know they last a while in the freezer. Your garden is looking lovely, Celia!
Cindy, thank you! One year we made assorted biscotti in November and stashed them all in the freezer for Christmas giving. They were completely fine! :)
Celia, why aren’t you the size of a bus? More delicious looking food. How long will the biscottti keep in an airtight container? Obviously, I mean if I plan to give it as a gift as in our house it would get eaten in no time.
Must be all the netball I play… ;-)
Darling, I AM the size of a bus, I keep telling you all, but no-one seems to believe me. I think biscotti will keep for at least a couple of weeks in an airtight container – they get a bit softer with time, which is no bad thing for my teeth. :)
All that rowing must be doing you good.
See, I read all your tweets even if I don’t understand them all!
Lovely and crunchy and the perfect afternoon partner with a coffee. :D
Misky, they really are the bee’s knees, aren’t they? I used to make non-chocolate ones as well, but lately I’m obsessed with these ones.. :)
That is one of David Lebovitz recipes I would like to try, ginger is a great idea.
Saucy, like all DL recipes, this one is pretty foolproof. Definitely worth giving it a go! :)
pure bliss….i thank you so much! love ✿◠‿◠) gina
Gina, thank you! Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! xx
These are the kind of biscuits I love Celia- soft ones aren’t as satisfying somehow! Of course my favorite dark chocolate doesn’t hurt this yumminess at all either :) xox
Becca, I USED to love chewy biscuits, but as I’ve gotten older, I find myself craving the crunch. I can almost convince myself that the biscotti aren’t too bad as they don’t have butter in them…well, until I think about the amount of chocolate that goes into them.. ;-)
Chocolate-Coated Biscotti, one of my most favorite cookies, can eat one, no 2, anytime. Is glace ginger the same as candied ginger?
Norma, yes it is! Over here we can buy a candied ginger product called “naked ginger” (I think it’s a brand name) which is the ginger without the extra coating of sugar on top. Here’s a photo:
I like the addition of glace ginger, different but certainly a tasty addition to biscotti. Love the idea of dipping them in more chocolate, how indulgent!
Lisa, thank you! They make nice Christmas presents with all the extra choccie! :)
Yet another push for me to get experimenting with chocolate. Oh how I love chocolate. These look irresistible Celia!
Claire, I hope you give tempering a go. Once you’ve got it sorted, I just know you’ll be off and running. Bit trickier in a hot Qld kitchen though – do you have air conditioning?
Biscotti is my favorite thing to eat, dipped in my morning coffee. Definitely making these next week, but can’t temper the chocolate since I don’t have a heat mat. Love that there’s cocoa in them, and then coated in melted chocolate. Yumm!! Never had ginger in my biscotti, can’t wait to try these!!
Thank you, Celia
xx
Mel
Mel, all sorts of heat mats work! Especially the ones designed for sore bones and muscles, they seem to be the right temperature. There just needs to be some way to keep the chocolate at the right temperature while you work it! Hope all is well.. xx
This is perfect! For my mood – for the day- for the ingredients that are in my pantry! Thank you, Celia! I look forward to many moments ahead when I will bless your name with a grateful sigh!
Heidi, I’m so pleased to hear that – I hope you had a chance to try these and that you enjoyed them! x
I had one and then locked them away for Christmas gifts! So good- and I loved the easiness of your recipe! Thanks again!
Oh yum! We try to have a bag of pretzels on hand for the remnants, we must use every last drop of our tempered chocolate! This biscotti looks absolutely perfect and you’re right, it demands a worthy drink for dipping. :)
Judy! Chocolate coated pretzels! I never thought of that before! Although I’m not huge on the salted chocolate taste, so it might not quite be my thing, but I completely agree with you on the not wasting any tempered chocolate! :)
Mmm… Thanks for the tip about spreading the chocolate with a butter knife. I would’ve dunked that biscotti way too eagerly!!!
That shortbread looks fabulous- is the recipe listed in you index? I’d love to make a batch!xx
Hi Em! The shortbread cookies are made in the food processor, and they’re basically unfilled jammy dodgers – here’s the recipe:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/02/03/pammys-jammy-dodgers/
Oh WOW. Celia, you’ve outdone yourself again! What an amazing sweet treat. I could eat that whole plate in the photograph… in one sitting (biscotti are just so moreish!). Yum. Thanks for sharing David’s recipe in visual format. Definitely going to try this x
Laura, thank you! I hope you enjoy these as much as we always do – whenever I make them, Pete and I eat them until we’re sick – neither of us seem to be able to resist them!
Ah, dunking biscotti. Reminded me of getting drunk on Vin Santo with a friend in Italy once.
Hahaha…I love that my biscotti remind you of a hangover.. :-)
Oh yum. That biscotti looks decadent!
Thanks Clare, they’re pretty wicked! :)
How absolutely scrumptious, she said, holding her stomach. Sooooooo disappointed that chocolate is not sitting well with me these days, as your biscotti look very, very good!
Oh you poor darling, I wish you were feeling better and that we could share some with you! xxx
They all look fantastic! I shall keep this in mind for my next attempt :)
Tandy, I’ve tried dipping all sorts of things – it’s worth experimenting! :)
Celia, I never made biscotti…yours look delicious, especially that you have lots and lots of hazelnuts…
Thanks for the recipe and hope you are enjoying your week :D
Juliana, thank you, you’re always so kind! Hope the weekend has been fabulous for you!
Ohh Yum! Love having the ginger there. I never thought I would like biscotti – only baking it because I had to, but what a revelation it was. Never thought of coating it. Maybe we could make a peanut butter sandwich out of it!
Oooh Craig, I’m not sure my teeth would cope with a sandwiched biscotti! And I’ve decided ginger is good in nearly everything! :)
Wow these look really delicious :-) Nice idea – never seen them choc-coated before like that.
Just done my in my kitchen post too :-)
Sandy, thank you! They’re great chocolate-coated – extra decadent! :)
I’m constantly amazed at how much cooking you manage to get done, given your schedule. I love biscotti and think it could only be improved with a coating of tempered chocolate. I think these would be fantastic to give as hostess gifts or done up in little gift bags at an event xx
Charlie, thank you – we make these often as a Christmas gift – they’re always popular with the neighbours! :)
I think I love you even more now,….MMMM,!!!! a great & tasty idea!
You are too sweet, Sophie! xxx
Oh you hit one of my favorites – not only do I LOVE biscotti but chocolate biscotti dipped in a cup of coffee is the best! I’ve never made it myself but I’ve got this one printed out to try.
Diane, they’re not hard to make, but a little time consuming. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! xx
Making these. It’s really about time I made some biscuits – thanks for motivating me!
Sally, there’s something about a hard crunchy dipping biscuit, isn’t there? Hope you like them! x
the pic where you are coating the biscotti with melted chocolate just kills me! I’m pinning this recipe to make … hopefully real soon. My belly wants this!
Azita, it’s one of those things – dipping and coating with chocolate – that I find positively soul soothing. I think it’s the texture and liquidity of it all. Thankfully I have lots of eaters, or I really would be beached! :)